Arsenal moved back on top of the English Premier League table — for 24 hours at least — after they beat West Ham United 2-0, despite being down to 10 men for more than half the match.
Denilson put the Gunners ahead after four minutes but Thomas Vermaelen was sent off shortly before half-time after he was adjudged to have fouled Alessandro Diamanti.
The Italian’s subsequent penalty was saved by Manuel Almunia, though, and Arsenal sealed the points when Cesc Fabregas converted from the spot after a handball by Matthew Upson.
Arsenal now sit one point clear of champions Manchester United at the top, with Chelsea three points back in third. United play Liverpool on Sunday while Chelsea travel to Blackburn.
Tottenham Hotspur cemented their bid for fourth place and the remaining Champions League spot as they won at 10-man Stoke City while one of their rivals, Aston Villa, lost ground.
Niko Kranjcar scored a late winner for Spurs as they won 2-1 at Stoke, who had Dean Whitehead sent off after 48 minutes.
The win moved them four points clear of Liverpool in the race to secure the remaining Champions League spot, while Villa’s 2-2 draw at home to local rivals Wolves means they are a point further back.
Eidur Gudjohnsen put Spurs ahead just after half-time and then Whitehead made things worse for Stoke by getting himself sent off for a mistimed challenge on Luka Modric.
Spurs failed to make the extra man pay, though, and Stoke levelled when Matthew Etherington scored from the penalty spot after Benoit Assou-Ekotto had fouled Dave Kitson.
But a nice dummy by Gudjohnsen allowed Kranjcar to slot in the winner and Spurs pinched the three points, leaving manager Harry Redknapp to praise Gudjohnsen’s influence since his loan move from Monaco.
“I want to keep him here next year. He’s a real top player and he’s got fantastic ability. With Jermain Defoe out injured he has got a big part to play,” he said.
“The chairman did the deal for him and I don’t know the details but we are certainly interested. The rest of the lads like him and they really love playing with him.” At Villa Park, John Carew gave Aston Villa an early lead from close range but Joey Craddock and an own goal from James Milner gave Wolves a surprise half-time lead.
But Villa piled on the pressure in the second half and Carew scored his second goal of the game, eight minutes from time, to salvage a point.
“They were not the best goals in the world but to fight back when we had to throw everything at it, I’ve got nothing but admiration for the players,” Villa manager Martin O’Neill said.
“I couldn’t have any more respect and regard for the team. The race (for fourth) is well and truly on and we are not out of it.” In the day’s other matches, Everton moved up to eighth place after a 2-0 win over Bolton. Gretar Steinsson was sent off in the second-half and Mikel Arteta curled in the resultant free kick before Steven Pienaar sealed the points late on.
Sunderland moved further clear of trouble with a 3-1 win over Birmingham City, with Darren Bent scoring twice, but Hull City are stuck in the bottom three after a stunning 3-2 loss at bottom side Portsmouth.
Hull led 2-1 with just two minutes to go but Jamie O’Hara and Nwankwo Kanu snatched the win for Portsmouth to give the south coast side — almost certain to be relegated themselves — some much-needed joy.
Hugo Rodallega scored in injury time as Wigan edged out Burnley 1-0, leaving the visitors still in deep trouble, second from bottom.
